When Ella Thomas left Love Island, in third place with partner Tyrique Hyde, she became part of an alumnus of 326 people who have appeared on the show. The number that has gone on to score lucrative contracts with fashion giant Pretty Little Thing? Just four. Joining an exclusive group that consists of Molly-Mae Hague, Gemma Owen and Indiyah Polack, Ella reportedly signed a six-figure, six-month brand ambassadorship with the company – and thus, her post-Love Island success has already been cemented, and we’re only six weeks out from the series.
It's in large part due to her innate sense of style on the show, fast becoming Grazia’s fashion pick of the series, with viewers keen to emulate her looks. For those eagerly awaiting Ella’s PLT drop, Grazia can exclusively reveal that it comes out next month – and rest assured, it will be as though you have your pick of Ella’s wardrobe. ‘The edit really represents my style, it’s got me written all over it,’ Ella says. ‘I’m super passionate about fashion, and I wanted to build a collection with a brand that I love.’
There's more than just a collection launch, she’s also been apartment hunting in London with Tyrique - which while may it may be a big step, Ella says is a natural progression after their time on Love Island together. ‘We spent so much time together in the villa and we got so used to being together 24/7, when we're not together it just feels weird,' she laughs. 'It just makes sense [to move in].'
Interest in Tyrique and Ella’s relationship has remained high since the show ended. Google Ella’s name, and the top searched question for the 23-year-old is ‘Are Ella and Ty still together?’ Rest assured, dear readers, they are madly in love. The cynics among us might have long viewed Love Island couples with a scoff, proclaiming ‘I give it six months’ and pointing to the ‘Love Island curse’ for evidence of a showmance.
But when we meet Ella in Soho to discuss all things fashion and life post-Love Island, Tyrique unexpectedly accompanies her in support. As we chat and film video content, he can't help but offer sweet compliments from afar, and it’s hard not to notice how often their eyes meet across the room - always accompanied with a beaming smile. The former Islanders have undoubtedly earned the incredible career opportunities that the show boasts, but they’ve also managed to find something even more rare from it: actual love.
Did Ella worry how she, and her relationship, was being perceived by viewers inside the villa? ‘I think when you’re in there you get so caught up in the bubble and what people think back home is the last thing on your mind, you’re just living in the moment,’ she says. She admits she hasn’t watched the show back since leaving, and that she doesn’t ever intend to.
‘I’ve lived it, I was there, so I don’t need to,’ Ella laughs. ‘But I’ve watched loads of clips on TikTok, so I’ve seen the main bits. I feel like I was portrayed as myself the whole way through.’
The topic of how someone is perceived on Love Island is always a controversial one. Some leave and proclaim they’ve been given the ‘villain edit’ – that is, purposefully edited by producers to appear less favourably - while others insist the show is very true to life. For Ella, she experienced the latter. ‘I’ve heard people talk about [villain edits], but I feel like mine was quite true to me,’ she says. ‘Obviously, you don’t see the whole 24 hours in the day, but everything you did see was me being myself.’
There were some unnatural parts of appearing on the show though, namely being told to repeat certain things you’ve said if microphones didn’t pick it up properly. ‘It’s not structured reality, everything you say is you, but it does feel a bit unnatural to repeat yourself, you just realise when you get there it is actually a TV show.’
Since coming out, Ella says she has not received much in the way of trolling or hate, a feat few women manage on a show that often sees them torn apart online. At the beginning of the show, Ella herself received many hateful comments accusing her of having cheek filler (she confirms she hasn’t had any, FYI) but slowly, the trolls died out with the chorus of fans that have followed her since leaving the show.
She counts herself lucky on the trolling front then, but also puts that in part down to the show's new social media ban. For the past two seasons of Love Island, islanders have been instructed not to let someone post on their behalf while in the villa – which used to be a frequent tool for garnering support for contestants and growing social media followings, but often backfired when Islanders left the show only to read thousands of hateful comments and DMs. Producers installed the ban then to prevent that.
‘I definitely can see why they did it, because if I was getting any [hate] I wouldn’t want my family reading it,’ Ella says. It hasn’t dampened her following though, as some Islander’s feared it might, with Ella gaining more than 900,000 followers on Instagram since joining the show. How has she found all the new eyeballs?
‘It has taken some adjusting to, but I’ve got good people around me and support,’ Ella says. ‘I’ve been shown so much love since I came out. No one’s been really horrible, but people do always have something to say – that just comes with it. I’m not the kind of person that takes on board what strangers say, I just brush it off.
Now, she just hopes she can use her huge following for good. ‘I’m really passionate about supporting women, I’m happy I’ve got a big platform now and I can encourage young girls to be themselves, be confident and go after what they want,’ she says.